A Peek Into The Markets: U.S. Stock Futures Edge Lower Ahead Of Yellen Speech

Pre-open movers

U.S. stock futures traded slightly lower in early pre-market trade. The Producer Price Index for January will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker is set to speak in Newark, Del. at 8:50 a.m. ET, while Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee at 10:00 a.m. ET. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Dennis Lockhart is set to speak in Huntsville, Ala. at 12:50 p.m. ET, while Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will speak in Houston, Texas at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6 points to 20,377.00, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures slipped 0.75 points to 2,325.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index declined 1.25 points to 5,257.75.

Oil prices traded lower as Brent crude futures gained 1.06 percent to trade at $56.18 per barrel, while US WTI crude futures rose 0.88 percent to trade at $53.90 a barrel.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index gaining 0.23 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index falling 0.09 percent and German DAX 30 index gaining 0.01 percent. The UK's FTSE index was trading higher by 0.04 percent, while French CAC 40 Index rose 0.08 percent.

In Asian markets, Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.13 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 0.03 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.03 percent and India’s BSE Sensex fell 0.04 percent.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded NetApp Inc. NTAP from Neutral to Overweight and raised the price target from $37.00 to $46.00.

NetApp shares rose 0.33 percent to close at $39.58 on Monday.

Breaking news

• T-Mobile US Inc TMUS reported upbeat earnings for its fourth quarter on Tuesday.



• Integrated Device Technology Inc IDTI agreed to acquire GigPeak Inc GIG for around $250 million in cash.
• Charles River Laboratories Intl. Inc CRL reported better-than-expected profit for its fourth quarter.



• Amkor Technology, Inc. AMKR posted downbeat revenue for its fourth quarter and issued a weak outlook for the current quarter.